Wel­come!

It’s not that we hate cake. Most of us have enjoyed a deca­dent slice of choco­late, coconut or red vel­vet cel­e­bra­tory cake before.

It tasted great as we toasted the bride and groom, grad­u­ate, retiree or anniver­sary couple.

Birth­day cakes are a bit dif­fer­ent and very per­sonal. Young ones get tur­tles, trains and car­toon char­ac­ter cakes molded and dec­o­rated to their surprise.

Teens fre­quently bake their own or one for their friend. They choose ice cream cakes, fun­fetti or Oreo cookie cake. Cup­cakes included for teens and sweet­ness is off the charts.

Adults get the wide open cake range from car­rot with cream cheese frost­ing to molten choco­late lava and every­thing in-​between.

Birth­day choices run the spec­trum with­out any guilt over bak­ery pur­chased cakes. Bundts and spe­cialty types go over the top on stun­ning designs. Where to place the can­dles might prob­lem­atic between the swirls, curls, rib­bons and fresh flower petals.

Cir­cle back to those of us who are not big cake fans on our spe­cial day. Yes, there are many in the camp of “I pre­fer some­thing else, thank you”.

That some­thing else is just as extrav­a­gant when it cap­tures the best fruits, nuts and avail­able ingre­di­ents of each season.

There is a sub­stan­tial crowd of pie, tart, cob­bler, crum­ble and gelato lovers to sup­port birth­day desserts that are not made of cake.

Proof is in a rav­ish­ing assort­ment of sophis­ti­cated cream puffs, souf­flés or shots that blend matcha, mas­car­pone or car­damom with booze, fruits and other heady com­po­nents. It’s good to be a birth­day adult these days.

Black­berry crum­ble with vanilla gelato sounds a lit­tle sim­ple. Fol­low­ing a rich birth­day meal, this treat is every­thing a berry lover could pos­si­bly want. Crème brulee with rasp­ber­ries are def­i­nitely an excel­lent sec­ond choice.

Cher­ries and apri­cots will be com­ing into the mar­ket soon. Year-​round, lemons, limes and trop­i­cal fruits can be found to work with. What kind of extra­or­di­nary temp­ta­tion do they suggest?

Flam­ing Cher­ries Jubilee or Key Lime Pie. So many birth­days, so lit­tle time. Wish­ing the best of what any birth­day will allow– friends and fam­ily around good food, and a dessert of your liking!